The Golden State Warriors broke the back-and-forth trend and now have a chance to win their fourth NBA Finals in the last eight seasons. Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics can tie this series up with a home victory tonight as they are 4-point favorites. Playing at home hasn’t been great for the Celtics, however, as they are just 6-5 this postseason playing at the TD Garden. To make the NBA Finals go seven games, they will need to figure out a way to beat the Warriors tonight. Expect another great game with so much on the line. Let’s get back on track with a First Basket Prop victory tonight!
NBA First Basket Prediction & Prop Bet Picks Today 6/16
The first basket odds are really starting to get short for a lot of the starters going into Game 6. It seems as though Otto Porter Jr., who scored the first basket of Game 5, is going to stay in the starting lineup in place of Kevon Looney. Similar to last series for both teams, not many studs are scoring the first basket. With Looney — who leads the Warriors in first baskets during the playoffs — out of the rotation, that opens the door for many more opportunities for others. This may be the last NBA game of the season, so it’s now or never to win this first basket prop.
Celtics vs. Warriors Game 6 | Thursday, June 16 | 9 p.m. ET
Let’s dive into the starters and their odds to score the first basket, along with the first baskets from the first five games.
The Starters and Odds
- Jaylen Brown +400
- Stephen Curry +450
- Jayson Tatum +550
- Klay Thompson +700
- Robert Williams III +700
- Andrew Wiggins +750
- Al Horford +900
- Otto Porter Jr. +1200
- Marcus Smart +1200
- Draymond Green +1800
Results This Series
- Game 1 – Stephen Curry (3-Pointer)
- Game 2 – Andrew Wiggins (3-Pointer)
- Game 3 – Kevon Looney (2-Pointer)
- Game 4 – Marcus Smart (2-Pointer)
- Game 5 – Otto Porter Jr. (2-Pointer)
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Stud NBA First Basket Prop Bet: Klay Thompson +700
Whenever there is a Game 6 to be played and Klay Thompson is involved, take him without thinking twice. The history is simply too strong to ignore. The last seven Game 6’s, he is averaging 28.1 points and 6.1 3-pointers made per game, shooting 53.1% from the field and 65.2% from behind the arc. In his last Game 6 against the Memphis Grizzlies, Thompson had 30 points and eight 3-pointers. He did not score the first basket, but he did have 11 first quarter points. Picking Thompson’s exact method of first basket being a 3-pointer is the most intriguing at +1600, even though +700 feels like great value in itself. Throughout this series, 70.8% of Thompson’s field goal attempts have come from long distance. He has attempted double-digit 3-pointers in three straight games while averaging 40 minutes per game. The Warriors have made the first basket in four of the first five games, and Thompson will keep that trend going tonight. This feels like another great Game 6 performance in a closeout game for a chance to add another title to Thompson’s championship belt. Expect him to come out shooting right from the jump.
Ben Rasa gives you a full NBA betting preview for Game 6 and gives you his favorite Warriors vs. Celtics picks and predictions.
Longshot NBA First Basket Prop Bet: Marcus Smart +1200
There is a plethora of trends that support Marcus Smart having a great bounce-back game tonight. Smart is the only Celtics player to score the first basket for their team all series, which happened in Game 4. The Defensive Player of the Year has been an X-factor on both sides of the floor during the NBA Finals. He is averaging 16.4 points per game in this series, and that is including the Game 2 dud where he only had 2 points on six field goal attempts. Take that game out of the equation and Smart is averaging 20 points per game, with at least 18 points in all four games. Coming off a loss is when Smart plays best. In six playoff games after a loss this postseason, Smart is averaging 21.8 points per game. He has been very aggressive on the offensive end of the floor in this matchup and against the Warriors in general. In the past five games before the NBA Finals, Smart averaged 18.2 points, which puts him at 17.3 points per game over his last 10 games against the Warriors. Something about this matchup brings out the best in him. This balanced Celtics team is very difficult to predict, especially when they will be playing in a must-win game. However, Smart is certainly not shy to hoist up a shot when the Celtics are struggling, and he has done a great job of scoring in the paint in this series.
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